Americans donated some $560 billion to charity in 2023, with two-thirds of that amount coming directly from individuals, according to the latest Giving USA annual report. The United States now ranks as the sixth-most generous country in the 2024 World Giving Index, down a notch from the previous year.
Americans also have a strong volunteer ethic. More than 60 million people contribute their time, serving a combined total of 4.1 billion hours per year, equivalent to $123 billion in contributions.
A new report from WalletHub, the personal finance website, identified the most charitable states in the country.
“The most charitable states aren’t just the places where people give the largest raw amounts of money,” WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said in a statement. “The share of the population contributing and the percentage of their individual incomes they’re willing to use to help others are big factors in showing how charitable people are.”
Although many people are not able to give much money, Lupo noted, they generously donate their time.
In order to determine the most philanthropic states, WalletHub compared the 50 states across two key dimensions:
- Volunteering and service, including volunteer hours per capita, share of population collecting and distributing food and clothing, and share of population fundraising or selling items to raise money; and
- Charitable giving, including share of income donated, share of population donating time and money, and Google search interest for “charitable donations.”
See the accompanying gallery for the 12 most generous states, according to WalletHub.
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